Apple holds pole position in the ‘true’ wireless headphone category

Futuresource, in its latest assessment of the headphones landscape, said that the true wireless segment has grown 178 per cent year-on-year, with Apple achieving a whopping 80 per cent market share.

According to this latest market update, Q1 2018 saw true wireless account for 31 per cent of all in-ear product revenues. As the average retail price continued to drop from $171 to $161 in Q1 2018, Apple AirPods maintained their dominance of the true wireless scene, compelling competitors to introduce lower-priced products at more than $150.

Wireless capability had already penetrated 45 per cent of headphones in Q1 and is instrumental in driving further uptake for many other features and form factors, including true wireless, neckbands, noise-cancelling and additional smart features.

On a worldwide basis, the overall headphones market totalled 79.1 million units in Q1, with retail revenues topping $4 billion.

Rasika D’Souza, senior market analyst at Futuresource Consulting, said: “Brands are enthusiastically adding features, resulting in a 17 per cent rise in the average retail price to $52. Across all categories, the highest price increase is in over-ear products, due to the impact of noise-cancelling and wireless technologies.”